Art of forming printing-bodies.



U. H. MARTINSEN.

ART OF FORMING PRINTING BODIES. APPLICATION FILED APR.4.1914.

1,219,472.. 7 Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

2SHEETSSHEET 1.

WITNESSES I 5 -6gmr///i1armsm,

,1, ATTORNEY.

O. H. MARTINSEN,

ARTOF FORMING PRINTING BODIES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 4,- m4.

Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITH/E8858 IIVLIEIVTOH,

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o'rroosnrr. MABTINSEN, or iinw Yonrr, n. Y., essrenoa, BY MESNE 'essreni/mnrs, To 0. Bnc'smr. FURNESS, or NEW roan, N. Y.

ear or FORMING riam'rrme-somns.

Lemme.

Specification of Letters Patent. m m Mam go, 11 *7,

Application filed April 4, 1914. I Serial No. 829,508.

Art of Forming Printing-Bodies, of which.

the following is a specification.

. In the art of printing with printing plates, and especially inthe printing of pictures, it is well known that the plate as formed is rarely, ifever, serviceable without modiiii'z ation of its printing action for producing printed impressions in which the lights and shades are developed so as to give the best effects. To modify the action of the plate as formed it is usual to resort to what is lmown' in the printers arts as makeready. That is to say, having taken a trial impression from the plate and determined, for instance, in what parts the highlights require modification, such parts are cut out of the sheet on which the trial impression is made and this sheet then placed, as so-called overlay, under the sheet on which the final impression is to be made, care being exercised to have the trial sheet (now constitut ing the make-ready) register with the engraved field of the plate, so that the openings therein, formed by-cutting out parts thereof as aforesaid, will exactly oppose the defective parts .of the plate; the result of the printing operation will then be the development of the high lights in the proper degree on the second-named or final sheet (and all others printed by the same method), the plate. obviously not printing with the same intensity wherethe openings come in the make-ready as elsewhere. Preparing make-ready is a branch of the art of picture .printing requiring great skill and care in its performance and where, as is frequently the case, the printer is required to modify by make-ready the action of each .of a number of plates, duplicates of each other, considerable time is lost in preparing to print.

The principal object of this invention is to save to the printer the time thus lost by providing means whereby any number of printing bodies may be formed each in a state in which the desired conditions forproducing proper light and shade effects in the picture or other image printed therefrom will be already developed.

The invention consists, first, in the hereindisclosed method of, changing the elevation 'ofa limited part of the impression portion .of a plate having a picture or other imageimpression formed therein so as to alter the impression in respect to light and shade,

without or with .theforming also of a print ing body.. 1

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 shows a sheet of paperbearing a printed picture and having make-ready pieces applied to the picture to produce.

what 1 herein term the make-ready or former;

Fig. 2 is a view of the obverse face of a plate which is to be treated in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 3 is a reverse view of said plate, with the former aflixed to the back thereof;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the plate on line mw, Fig. 3, with the former aflixed thereto;

, Fig. 5 shows in section said plate with the former affixed thereto and the plastic body to form thefprintin'g body interposed between the coacting members of a press before pressure is applied;

Fig, 6 is a similar view during application of the pressure; and,

Fig. 7 shows the normal condition of the plate, inthe preferred performance of the invention, after the first use thereof to produce a printing body.

In'said drawings, a is a sheet of paper or other sheet material bearing a printed pic ture or other image, and. Z) make-ready pieces of'paper or the like which have been cut to the proper shape and size and pasted or otherwise aflixed upon the picture over parts thereof which require modification either to cure defects in or improve the picture, in respect to light and shade, which is to be produced from the printing body to be formed in the practice of this invention.

This constitutes what I shall hereafter term a make-ready sheet, designated as a whole by c, and having elevations (as b), in the present instance giving the former increased thickness where they occur. a

d is a matrix plate having impressed therein the same picture which appears on the former 0, it having been formed by pressing it against the identical plate from which the picture on the former c was printed. At 6 on this plate are indicated portions of its working field which, in the plate from which it was made, would produce undue shade in any picture made therefrom (for instance, the portions in the picture on sheet a appearing covered by the pieces 1)). Plate (5 is composed of some material which, While tough and durable, will yet respond to pressure requiring it to yield in places, for instance, when somewhat heated; it is preferably transparent for a reason which will appear, and with this and other desirable qualities in view it may be composed of celluloid .or the like, although any other ma terial, such as lead, which will give the plate the essential quality of yielding to pressure locally under the action of a make-ready sheet with the plate supported by some impressionable material may be used.

7 is the element which is to become the printing body; It is composed of some substance, which, either normally or when heated (for instance, celluloid or the like), is impressionable.

g and h are the coacting members of a press.

In the preferred practice of my invention I proceed as follows:

I paste or otherwise aliix the make-ready sheet 0 to the back of the plate (Z, being careful to bring the pieces 6 in exact'registry with the portions 0 of the impression therein, which will of course be possible to a nicety if the plate is transparent.

Plate (Z, with the make-ready sheet affixed thereto, and body f are then introduced between the members 9 and it of the aforesaid press, the body 7 being adjacent the acting or impression face of plate (Z. If body 7* is not in the normal state more impressionable than the plate (Z it is first softened by heat. Pressure is then applied, with the result that not only is an impressed replica of the impression in the plate formed in the body 7", detail for detail and inclusive of the portions c on the plate, but depressions are produced in the body f conforming in location and substantially in shape and size with said portions, this being due to the pieces I) overlying said portions forcing the corresponding portions 2' of plate (l out of their original plane into the more impressionable body f. Pressure member it affords an unyielding support throughout the whole area of body f, so that where the depressions come body f is thinned, as shown in l ig. 6, leaving saidbody perfectly flat at the back, whereby it is adapted at once for the press in the printing of pictures and is not subject in use to having its depressions obliterated by the pressure applied at the back thereof.

So far as the body f 15 concerned theresult is the production of a printing body having not only all the details of the imshape effected by the displacement of the portions Z (especially if it be composed of a material whichthe heat derived from the body 7 or otherwise will somewhat soften and it be allowed to cool. while still in the press) this is shown by Fig. '7. Although this is not material so far as the use of plate a! in producing other printing bodies is concerned so long as the former 0 remains attached thereto, I reserve the idea of shaping in the way explained a plate having a printed impression therein, and thereby producing a matrix from which printing plates may be formed that will develop the desired light and shade effects in pictures printed from them.

llaving thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The method herein described consist ing in placing a planiform body of plastic material llatwise on a support substantially unyielding throughout apredeterinined area of said body, placing a plate having a printing impression formed therein flatwise upon and with its obverse face toward the said body. and placing upon said platein regis try with a selected. and more or less limited part of said impression make-ready material conforming in size and shape with said part, a id thereupon exerting on said plate and the make-ready material pressure toward the support' and substantially uniformly throughout said area. i

2. The method herein described consist-- in in placing a planiform body of plastic material .flatwise on a support substantially unyielding throughout a predetermined area of said body, placing a plate having a p rinting impression formed therein flatwise upon and withits obverse face toward the said body and placing upon said plate a make: ready sheet having a part thereof registering, and conforming in size and shape, with a. selected and more or less limited part of said impression thickened-up, and thereupon exerting on said plate and the make-ready sheet pressures toward the support and sub stantially uniformly throughout saidarea. I 3. The inethod herein described consists mg in printing on a piece of sheet material 12.5

conforming insii and. shape with a se lected part of the picture-impression and thereby forminge make-ready sheet, then.

placing the make-ready sheet against the reverse side of said plate with theppicture on said sheet registering With the pictureimpresslon 1n the plate and the obverse side" of the plate against an impressionable support, and then subjecting sheet, plate and support to pressure.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses. v n OTTOCAR MARTINSEN.

Witnesses: v -GEO.' F. BRELsFoRn,

JOHN W. STEWARDY. 

